What is better for service calls - netbook or laptop?

I had a client the other day who expressed an interest in a netbook and asked me to look into them and make a recommendation. I had honestly never seen one in the wild so I went by BB and looked at the samples on the floor. The sweet spot appears to be in the 10in variety - best screens, best keyboards, and easily upgradable.

Anyways, having played with them for a while got me to thinking - as a computer tech, do I really need my current laptop (modified Dell Latitude E6400)? Honestly, when I need a powerful system, I have the workstation and server back in office. The E6400, while a great laptop in its own right, is redundant overkill at this point. To me, a properly configured netbook would be eminently more portable, take up less space and be more utilitarian in some of the cramped spaces I am called to work in. Not to mention, if it was stolen from the truck or broken in the field, replacing one would be much cheaper and simpler.

The systems that seem most appealing, from a field tech's standpoint, are the MSI Wind, the new Asus Eee EPC1000HE, or buying the OCZ barebones unit and sticking the parts I want it in versus upgrading the Asus or MSI.

If you are using a netbook, let me know how it is faring for field service use. Do you prefer the netbook or a laptop - and why?

Thanks in advance for taking time to reply.

I love my netbook, I have the Asus 901 with Linux as this has great battery life which is important in a product such as this who's sole purpose if to be mobile.
I also think that Windows looks really bad and lacks functionality on a screen so small

I like my mini 12 quite a bit. the screen size makes it so much better than any other netbook. but its expensive kinda.
does however get excellent battery life on 6 cells, and never fails to impress when i whip it out. get the 3 cells and it compares to a macbook air for size and thinness. although the life on that battery is a little poor. i sure with the screen set to 75%ish *which is a good sweet spot* you can get 3 hours of life.
i run 4-7 hours depending on the screen level. useage makes minimal difference too. atom is nice for that.

I will be replacing it soon with a hp 2710p though. im a bit of a tablet purist.
the mini 10 will be offering a 1280x720 screen too which is really interesting in a netbook. my 12 has 1280x800 which doesn't seem like it matters, but some software wont run on less than 1024x768 without a bit of hacking.
my aspire one couldn't run my raw image software for my canon camera.

if the mini 12 had an ssd, it would be much better, but its not as slow as a lot of the reviews seem to say it is.

Valk said:

I like my mini 12 quite a bit. the screen size makes it so much better than any other netbook. but its expensive kinda.
does however get excellent battery life on 6 cells, and never fails to impress when i whip it out. get the 3 cells and it compares to a macbook air for size and thinness. although the life on that battery is a little poor. i sure with the screen set to 75%ish *which is a good sweet spot* you can get 3 hours of life.
i run 4-7 hours depending on the screen level. useage makes minimal difference too. atom is nice for that.

I will be replacing it soon with a hp 2710p though. im a bit of a tablet purist.
the mini 10 will be offering a 1280x720 screen too which is really interesting in a netbook. my 12 has 1280x800 which doesn't seem like it matters, but some software wont run on less than 1024x768 without a bit of hacking.
my aspire one couldn't run my raw image software for my canon camera.

if the mini 12 had an ssd, it would be much better, but its not as slow as a lot of the reviews seem to say it is.

Click to expand...

Good feedback. I had not put alot of effort into evaluting the mini 12, but the onlien review I just read sounderd promising. I am still curious in the OCZ "DIY" Neutrino, simply from the standpoint of going with a basic system, but the NC10 and the Mini 12 are also on my short list.

Out of curiosity. what programs, in particular, won't run on less that 1024x768?

I was shopping for a netbook for a long time , i really wanted one , because of great portability , when it all came down Asus was definitely the winner and the mentioned msi was a second , but dont expect performance out of any of those am not sure as what exactly u going to be using this machine for but i think u might need a dvd drive and all netbooks lack that instead u need to lag around an external which kills the whole mobility notion , and really all they are good for is email and web surfing if u want to use it for anything else you gonna be depraving yourself out of performance alot , but all in all ASUS hands down they have alot of models too if u check newegg to suit you best , if perfomance( mainly battery life ) doesnt bother you look into dells low end mini 9 , which can be had for 200 bucks stick 2 gb memory in it bigger hd (another 100 bucks ) and u got a machine for about 300 bucks , also look into SAMSUNGS i havent researched them personally but heard good things about them lately and seem like they come preconfigured very good for what u pay .



myself i got a good deal on a 13.3 inch dell xps , couldn't pas it up , beats a netbook in all categories except size maybe =)

CharlieCS said:

I was shopping for a netbook for a long time , i really wanted one , because of great portability , when it all came down Asus was definitely the winner and the mentioned msi was a second , but dont expect performance out of any of those am not sure as what exactly u going to be using this machine for but i think u might need a dvd drive and all netbooks lack that instead u need to lag around an external which kills the whole mobility notion , and really all they are good for is email and web surfing if u want to use it for anything else you gonna be depraving yourself out of performance alot , but all in all ASUS hands down they have alot of models too if u check newegg to suit you best , if perfomance( mainly battery life ) doesnt bother you look into dells low end mini 9 , which can be had for 200 bucks stick 2 gb memory in it bigger hd (another 100 bucks ) and u got a machine for about 300 bucks , also look into SAMSUNGS i havent researched them personally but heard good things about them lately and seem like they come preconfigured very good for what u pay .



myself i got a good deal on a 13.3 inch dell xps , couldn't pas it up , beats a netbook in all categories except size maybe =)

Click to expand...

I can manage without portable burning capabilities and I do not need a ton of horsepower either. XPS 13 is a nice unit though...

i wasnt able to run my canon raw image viewer. its not a big deal really but kinda annoyed me. the aspire one was definitly not my first choice for adobe lightroom either ha ha.
it handled photoshop ok but no high res stuff. i could do basic edits on 10mp images but filters and major adjustments i would'nt have tried.

the mini 12 is similar in performence but the screen realestate makes it a lot more useful for daily tasks.
netbooks with 1024x600 make many tasks a pain in the *** having to scroll around everywhere on the craptacular trackpads. the acer had multi touch, which was kinda nice, but i always tripped it with my thumb or some stupid ****.

my 12 though, the screen is bright enough and has a decent contrast and viewing angles to make it a joy to use. similar to most other 12" subnotes out there really.

the keyboard is bigger than any other netbook, although could have been a little bit better. they left like 3/4" of space on either side that could ahve been better used for keys.
that said though, its very functional and doesnt omit anything like the mini 9, or try to group a bunch of crap into the smaller layout, like combination number/function keys.

the / . nad , keys are slightly smaller than normal but you get used to it.
my only complaint about the keyboard is that my space bar seems to have warped.. Now i dont expect a lot from a dell keyboard really, most are pretty cheap, even on a $3000 dell xt, the keys were cheap and flimsy. but like the xt, this keyboard doesn't flex at all.

the trackpad is huge, like, bigger than some 15" notebooks huge. its responsive and the dell app to control it *just a shell for synaptics* is decent. the buttons aren't clicky or noisy and sink in to indicate a press. it has a slight texture to it, useful in the dark.
I wish they sunk it in a little more though. since your thumb can slide over it when you are typing.

i could go on and on about this machine. i really do love it for what it is.
its almost hard to sell it as a netbook because it gets so much right as a notebook that its almost a shame.

oh, did i mention it is completly silent? no fans in the mini 12. completly passive cooling due to the silverthorne processor and us15w chipset.
the graphics arent amazing, but it does have hardware h264 support. doesnt work with the cccp's h264 well, chokes hcore, but can run 720 p with coreavc, and wmp.

for whatever reason, wmp is the only app that supports the hardware.

any more questions, fell free to ask. its a shame ill be selling it.
gonna use the hdd in my tablet for a bit untill i can get another ssd. for the price though, id say consider a used tablet or subnote on ebay. i baught a hp 2710p tablet pc for $600 cdn. this mini 12 was about $574 cdn on special.

some pics comparing it to the aspire one.

i sold my q6600 HTPC and got an Asus Eee 1000HE, most netbooks cant be upgrade, well HD and ram, but cpu is soldered in most i believe, the screens are pretty much the same on all models and 10 is just bigger then 8.9, i don't think quality varies much,

but i do love my 10' 1000HE!

Valk

Thanks for the thorough response. The Dell Mini 12 is a neat option and I could see the benefit, esp if the jobs I were going to task it with needed the larger screen space.

In my case, whatever solution I decide upon will be used for making field & service calls out as computer/networking support technician. I like the 10" form factor for squeezing into smaller spaces. I will not be doing much graphic work so screen real estate is not critical, though 1280x800 is damn appealing. What I do want is something low-key, hopefully durable, easy to replace if damaged/stolen, has common hardware for multiple OS support, and is outfitted with multiple connectivity options.

Right now, the OCZ Neutrino, for me, is a darn good fit. It meets all of the criteria I just laid out, plus I have 2GB of spare memory and a spare Intel 5300 wifi card sitting here. It is onsale at newegg now, with a $20.00 MIR so what I am thinking is picking up one of those and a decent 60GB or 60GB+ SSD and seeing what I can DIY for myself. I know the neutrino is not a real DIY option, but in my case, all I need for it is the barbones kit and the SSD as I have everything else, including a spare copy of Vista Business that I can run on it should I need to.

probably want to stick to a 945 based netbook, like an lenovo, hp or acer. the hp minis are sexy as hell and getting cheaper. acer has a 10" now and i hear the s10 is damn nice.

you might also consider the msi wind. its simple and to the point and pretty cheap.

Valk said:

probably want to stick to a 945 based netbook, like an lenovo, hp or acer. the hp minis are sexy as hell and getting cheaper. acer has a 10" now and i hear the s10 is damn nice.

you might also consider the msi wind. its simple and to the point and pretty cheap.

Click to expand...

Yeah, the s10 caught my eye. I have heard some negative comments on the s10's keyboard, i.e. awkward and flexy, but overall it is nice. Plus, it is a Lenovo. The only drawback I have heard is that the fan can be brutal as the BIOS settings controlling it are fscked - tons of custom/hacked BIOSes floating on the net to help fix as well as some custom apps to reconfigure the fan. I might simply rip the whole thing out, if I get an s10, and put a custom, fanless, copper heatsheet/heatsink in its place.

HP and Acer just don't look right to me. I know the HPs have had solid reviews for the most part, but I am just not sold as I have seen too many of their consumer-grade laptops and desktops simply fall to pieces. The Acers look and feel like kiddie toys. I know, minor gripe, but I just cannot find myself using one.

Not that the neutrino is anything to write home about in terms of appeal, but that is part of the reason I like it. I looks like a simple, minimal laptop that no one would look twice at. The reviews I have seen, as well as some of the conversations I have had with techs at Workhorse PC (they make a netbook using the same barebones frame), indicate that the overall frame of the Neutrino is sturdy and solid.

If I cannot convince myself of going with the Neutrino then the S10 would be the next option for certain.

The Asus eee1000he is the best 10" laptop you can get. At ZZF its 350 bucks last time I checked... The thing does everything I want it to do. Write papers, surf the web, play simple games when on the go. An added bonus is that it plays 720p movies. It also has the best battery life.

I have the entire hard-drive auto sync-ed with my desktop at home which has dual screen w/ 39" of real-estate. So if I ever have to do anything w/ photochop etc..., I just sit down on my desktop and off I go. Don't even need to pull the Asus out of my bag.

Also with it, I'm considering buying a WWAN(3g) card, GPS, and RF receiver, then install it all internally. One reason why I chose the Asus is because there is a huge modding community.